California mom arrested for attempting exorcism on daughter

A Northern California woman was in custody Sunday on suspicion of beating, biting and choking her 11-year-old daughter in an attempt to perform an exorcism on the child, authorities said.

By Daisy Nguyen The Associated Press

June 19, 2017 - 1:16 pm

Kimberly Felder, of Ferndale, Calif. Felder, was in custody Sunday, June 18, 2017, on suspicion of beating, biting and choking her 11-year-old daughter in an attempt to perform an exorcism on the child, authorities said. (Humboldt County Sheriff's Office via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — A Northern California woman was in custody Sunday on suspicion of beating, biting and choking her 11-year-old daughter in an attempt to perform an exorcism on the child, authorities said.

Kimberly Felder, 45, stripped her daughter naked and shoved sand into her mouth and into her eyes before a witness tried to stop the attack at a secluded beach in Ferndale, a North Coast town about 115 miles north of San Francisco on Friday, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office said.

The witness, John Marciel, said Felder told him she was trying to remove demons from her daughter and continued to hit the girl’s head with a piece of driftwood while he tried to restrain her. He said he stayed on the phone with 911 operators as he tried to wrestle Felder to the ground. Deputies who arrived to the scene managed to separate Felder from her daughter and place her in handcuffs.